That was the last thing that de Adder, and the Star, intended to convey. In hindsight, though, we should have been more aware that the cartoon could b

Cartoons often evoke strong reactions, and Michael de Adder’s cartoon on Wednesday’s editorial page was no exception. In the wake of the Scarborough shooting, de Adder drew an image of a young girl with the caption “Injuries to expect before they are two,” with a “boo boo” from a high chair as well as an injury from a bullet.

Quite a few readers found the cartoon, coming right after the Scarborough incident, very upsetting. Some told us in letters to the editor, emails and phone calls that by portraying the child as identifiably black and using the word “they,” it fed into racial stereotypes at a time when emotions were running particularly high. Some even thought it was making light of the shooting, as though subjecting a 22-month-old child to this kind of violence (as happened in Scarborough) isn’t serious.

That was the last thing that de Adder, and the Star, intended to convey. In hindsight, though, we should have been more aware that the cartoon could be read in a way that would reinforce stereotypes.

The intended point of the cartoon was to say how unacceptable it is for a child – any child – to face such an injury along with the routine bruises that come with growing up. The word “they” was intended to refer to children, but it could easily be taken as a reference to black people in general. Certainly, a considerable number of thoughtful readers interpreted it that way.

On his website, de Adder says: “When there’s tragedy like this, drawing a cartoon is very difficult. You don’t intend to offend anybody. You intend to make people pause or maybe think.” In this case we didn’t do a good enough job in trying to make people think while avoiding stereotypes and misunderstanding. We are sorry.

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